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AFAD set for Saturday
The 53rd annual Air Force Appreciation Day in Mountain Home -- the community's largest celebration -- kicks off Saturday morning.
The event is designed to honor men and women stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base and to recognize all uniformed members of the U.S. armed forces.
This year's main events on Saturday feature the state's largest parade followed by a free barbecue and entertainment in Carl Miller Park.
Events actually begin Friday evening with the annual corn shucking to prepare the corn for Saturday's free barbecue in the park. The public is invited to take part in Friday's activities, which start at 6 p.m.
At the same time, the annual commander's social is also held at the city park that evening in addition to this year's AFAD fun run and walk.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the race begins at 6:30 p.m. at Carl Miller Park and follows a course through town. Monitored by police for safety, the course stretches three miles for walkers with a five-mile option for runners.
The cost to enter the race is $30 per person. People may register online by going to www.spondoro.com or at the park prior to the race. For details, call Brad Seymour at 587-4068.
Saturday's festivities begin at 10:30 a.m. with a flyover, which at press time was scheduled to include vintage aircraft from the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa. The annual flyover kicks off the AFAD parade, which winds its way from Paul's Market through the city's downtown area before it concludes at Carl Miller Park.
Billy and Mary Kay Richey, two long-time volunteers during each AFAD celebration, will serve as this year's parade grand marshals.
Saturday's parade will include more than 110 entries with an estimated 2,000 citizens who walk, ride and march in the state's largest parade. Another 7,000 or more people are expected to line the streets to watch the parade, many of them waving tiny American flags or dressed in red-white-and-blue outfits.
The deadline to enter floats or vehicles in the parade has passed, although organizers will usually make accommodations for late entries.
AFAD Parade Chairman Sue Gross noted that the parade is not arranged on a first come, first served basic.
"It is an orchestrated event," she said. "We spread out floats, decorative displays and awesome equipment throughout the whole parade -- start to finish. Everyone wants to be in the front of the parade and has good reasons for their request. However, to be an entertaining parade, you have to place entries in a fashion that viewers see interesting entries coming towards them to the very end.
"The final entry is just as important as the first," she added. "When viewers start seeing the animal entries, another of the highlights of the parade, they are excited all over again -- and virtually everyone stays in place until the Famous Pooper Scoopers pass them."
As soon as the parade ends, activities move to Carl Miller Park where more than 135 vendors will set up booths, offering everything from food to arts and crafts to games. More than 10,000 individuals typically show up to enjoy the festivities throughout the afternoon.
In addition to the entertainment, people line up for the free barbecue, which features pulled beef sandwiches, corn and more. The meal begins as soon as the parade ends, roughly around noon.
AFAD organizers request that dogs and other pets not be brought to the park.
During the afternoon events, the Chamber also begins raffling off a number of items donated by local businesses. AFAD raffle tickets are $1 each or six for $5.
Tickets are available in advance at the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce, Paul's Market, La Mode Cleaners, Home Federal Bank, city hall, Pioneer Federal Credit Union, DeMeyer Furniture and Idaho Independent Bank. People may also buy them at the chamber booth in Carl Miller Park on Saturday.
Raffle prizes include a $1,500 shopping spree from DeMeyer Furniture, a $1,500 shopping spree from Ageless Beauty, a natural gas barbecue from Intermountain Gas, a set of luggage from Brenda's Travel Service, a 32-inch LCD television from Home Federal Credit Union, two $250 cash prizes and a Farberware cooking set from Bealls.
AFAD is an event that is almost legendary throughout the Air Force, according to this year's event organizers. From humble stop-and-start beginnings, it has grown to become the community's largest event.
Run by the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce, it takes hundreds of volunteers to put it on, a coordinating committee that has to deal with thousands of details to make it work, combined with the wholehearted support of businesses and individuals throughout the community, officials added.